Team Marco Polo

History Schmistory: August 31. Zeppelin’s Zeppelin

Thursday, August 31, 2023 by teammarcopolo

1895: German Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin patents his navigable balloon. He soon explores the heavens in search of the elusive stairway.

By Till Krech from Berlin, Germany (stairway to heaven Uploaded by perumalism) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

History Schmistory: August 30. “Vhaaaat?”

Wednesday, August 30, 2023 by teammarcopolo

1940: Nazi Germany re-assigns Romania’s Northern Transylvania territory to Hungary. They hold daytime meetings to avoid Dracula.

By Screenshot from “Internet Archive” of the movie Dracula (1958) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Deadword of the Day: Errorist

Saturday, August 26, 2023 by teammarcopolo

Errorist: One who errs. A proliferator of error.

As in: Major League Baseball has had its share of errorist attacks.

Herman Long

History Schmistory: August 25. Life on the Moon?

Friday, August 25, 2023 by teammarcopolo

1835: The New York Sun begins to perpetuate what later became known as the Great Moon Hoax, six articles written by a fictitious doctor who claimed that he viewed the moon through “an immense telescope of an entirely new principle” and discovered it was inhabited by, among other things, bat-people…

See page for author [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The articles caused quite a stir, not seen again until another bat-like hoax hit the mainstream many moons later…

By Vinya [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

History Schmistory: August 24. More Gospels Omitted!

Thursday, August 24, 2023 by teammarcopolo

1456: Â TheÂ Gutenberg Bible, theÂ first major book produced on a moveable-type printing press,Â is complete.

By NYC Wanderer (Kevin Eng) (originally posted to Flickr as Gutenberg Bible) [CC BY-SA 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

History Schmistory: August 23. Silence! The Mad King Speaks!

Wednesday, August 23, 2023 by teammarcopolo

1775: King George III declares that the AmericanÂ colonies exist in a state of open and avowed rebellion. And that his teacup has turned the sugar against him.